Ferrari, Fast Ferraris and Lambos, Fuel-Friendly Ram, and an Eco-Altima
Getting FXX'd up: Twenty extremely well-heeled Ferrari loyalists will get a chance to own a Ferrari FXX. The FXX is a more track-ready version of the now-out-of-production Enzo. Horsepower has been increased to over 800, and the sequential-manual gearbox has been further modified to improve shift timing. Furthermore, the FXX has revised bodywork that provides 40-percent-more downforce than the Enzo. The FXX isn't street-legal, and it costs about $1.8 million (give or take a few tens of thousands), so to make up for that illegality, Ferrari will make owners feel like test drivers by listening to their opinions and suggestions regarding the car's handling and behavior. The comments from the owners will then be compared with those from Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, and Ferrari's in-house test drivers, and then, if we're lucky, thrown out.
Deactivated Ram: A revised Dodge Ram pickup truck is set to debut in 2006. It will sport a restyled front fascia and fenders. Inside, the Ram gets an instrument panel reminiscent of the Grand Cherokee's. Mechanically, the Ram will differ only in that the optional Hemi 5.7-liter V-8 will feature the cylinder deactivation that debuted on the 300C sedan and Magnum R/T. Dodge claims the more efficient Hemi will improve your gas bill by 20 percent. As with other cylinder-deactivation models, the Ram will shut down half of them and run as a four-cylinder in situations where full engine power isn't needed, at low speeds or on flat highways.
Aspen—the new SUV, not the '70s icon: Chrysler will launch a new SUV next summer, according to a report in the Detroit News. The sport-ute will be based on Dodge's Durango but will feature a more upscale design and equipment levels. The name Aspen was chosen because Dieter Zetsche is trying desperately to acquire membership in a waspy country club there. Hey, that's a joke—lighten up. The name is likely perceived as fashionable, and enough people don't remember the unpleasant sedan and wagon that bore the name in the '70s. The Aspen will enjoy its coming-out party at the Detroit show in January.
A more powerful bat: Lamborghini will offer a second model of the Murciélago, the GT, which will come with a significant horsepower jump over the lesser sports car. A bump in displacement from 6.2 liters to 6.5 will provide 645 horsepower, a devilish boost over the current car's 572. It will go on sale next summer and should run about 400 large. Italian horses don't come cheap.
Altima goes hybrid: Nissan announced that the Altima will get a gas-electric hybrid option next year. The Altima's hybrid system will be similar to the one in the Toyota Prius in that the Altima will be able to creep away from a stop on electric rather than gas power. Production will take place in Smyrna, Tennessee, factory to the Pathfinder, Frontier, Xterra, and Maxima. Nissan plans on moving 50,000 hybrid Altimas when they go on sale at the end of 2006 as 2007 models.
Hybrid hype? Ford, in an attempt to mollify hybrid-Escape owners who were unable to attain the claimed EPA fuel-economy numbers, invited them to take a training course to learn how to squeeze every mile per gallon out of the gas-electric SUV. Our invitation to the program probably was lost in the mail, but we imagine the phrase "Pretend there's no one behind you and the accelerator is an egg" was uttered more than once. Clearly, the EPA figures for hybrids aren't exactly what we'd call accurate in the real world.Continued...
Getting FXX'd up: Twenty extremely well-heeled Ferrari loyalists will get a chance to own a Ferrari FXX. The FXX is a more track-ready version of the now-out-of-production Enzo. Horsepower has been increased to over 800, and the sequential-manual gearbox has been further modified to improve shift timing. Furthermore, the FXX has revised bodywork that provides 40-percent-more downforce than the Enzo. The FXX isn't street-legal, and it costs about $1.8 million (give or take a few tens of thousands), so to make up for that illegality, Ferrari will make owners feel like test drivers by listening to their opinions and suggestions regarding the car's handling and behavior. The comments from the owners will then be compared with those from Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, and Ferrari's in-house test drivers, and then, if we're lucky, thrown out.
Deactivated Ram: A revised Dodge Ram pickup truck is set to debut in 2006. It will sport a restyled front fascia and fenders. Inside, the Ram gets an instrument panel reminiscent of the Grand Cherokee's. Mechanically, the Ram will differ only in that the optional Hemi 5.7-liter V-8 will feature the cylinder deactivation that debuted on the 300C sedan and Magnum R/T. Dodge claims the more efficient Hemi will improve your gas bill by 20 percent. As with other cylinder-deactivation models, the Ram will shut down half of them and run as a four-cylinder in situations where full engine power isn't needed, at low speeds or on flat highways.
Aspen—the new SUV, not the '70s icon: Chrysler will launch a new SUV next summer, according to a report in the Detroit News. The sport-ute will be based on Dodge's Durango but will feature a more upscale design and equipment levels. The name Aspen was chosen because Dieter Zetsche is trying desperately to acquire membership in a waspy country club there. Hey, that's a joke—lighten up. The name is likely perceived as fashionable, and enough people don't remember the unpleasant sedan and wagon that bore the name in the '70s. The Aspen will enjoy its coming-out party at the Detroit show in January.
A more powerful bat: Lamborghini will offer a second model of the Murciélago, the GT, which will come with a significant horsepower jump over the lesser sports car. A bump in displacement from 6.2 liters to 6.5 will provide 645 horsepower, a devilish boost over the current car's 572. It will go on sale next summer and should run about 400 large. Italian horses don't come cheap.
Altima goes hybrid: Nissan announced that the Altima will get a gas-electric hybrid option next year. The Altima's hybrid system will be similar to the one in the Toyota Prius in that the Altima will be able to creep away from a stop on electric rather than gas power. Production will take place in Smyrna, Tennessee, factory to the Pathfinder, Frontier, Xterra, and Maxima. Nissan plans on moving 50,000 hybrid Altimas when they go on sale at the end of 2006 as 2007 models.
Hybrid hype? Ford, in an attempt to mollify hybrid-Escape owners who were unable to attain the claimed EPA fuel-economy numbers, invited them to take a training course to learn how to squeeze every mile per gallon out of the gas-electric SUV. Our invitation to the program probably was lost in the mail, but we imagine the phrase "Pretend there's no one behind you and the accelerator is an egg" was uttered more than once. Clearly, the EPA figures for hybrids aren't exactly what we'd call accurate in the real world.Continued...
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